Chapter 161
I looked at Go Jinseong, who had maintained his high-handed attitude throughout the discussion, and spoke.
“Hollywood can do it, but Korea can’t?”
“That’s a pretty bitter thing to say.”
“And I can’t agree with it.”
“If they can do it, then so can we.”
“If it works for them, I believe it can work for us too.”
“And I think Kingdom of Crime is proof of that.”
The Palme d’Or at Cannes.
Ten million admissions.
Those were results no one could deny.
And those results gave weight to my words.
In the end, Go Jinseong lowered his gaze as if he had nothing left to say.
Just as the atmosphere was starting to sink, Kim Eunkyung quickly stepped in.
“All right. How about we do this?”
“Production feasibility is certainly important, but that’s something we, the production companies, should worry about.”
“So for now, I’d like the judges to evaluate only the quality of the work itself.”
“How does that sound?”
At Kim Eunkyung’s mediation, all three judges nodded.
After a brief silence, Writer Seo Kyunghee spoke first.
“Now that I think about it, I may have forgotten my role.”
“As a judge, I should simply evaluate the work itself.”
“I’m not sure why I was worrying about production costs or practical conditions.”
She looked back down at the script.
“If we judge it purely as a work, then I would send this one to the final round.”
Actor Min Sungjae immediately joined in.
“I liked this one from the beginning.”
“If you really make it, I’d love to act in it myself. Hahaha.”
His joke quickly brought laughter back into the room.
Go Jinseong cleared his throat awkwardly.
“Well, two out of three judges are in favor, so I suppose it passes.”
“But separately from that, I’m still half skeptical about this project.”
He sighed.
“Zombies wearing gat...”
“I honestly can’t imagine it.”
For someone who makes a living creating things, his imagination is surprisingly limited.
If anything, the image of zombies wearing traditional Korean gat was exactly what would make the concept both distinctly Korean and instantly eye-catching to viewers around the world.
“But...”
Go Jinseong continued.
“If this project really does get made into a drama, and people respond positively to it, then I’ll admit cleanly that my judgment was too narrow.”
“Of course.”
I smiled leisurely.
“And personal taste is still personal taste.”
The meeting continued.
And eventually, we finalized the twelve works that passed the second round.
The moment I received the list, a smile naturally spread across my face.
[Film Category]
[Night of the Chasers / Kim Dojin]
[Undercover / Park Chulwoo]
[Her Memory Method / Yoon Jisoo]
[Three other works]
[Drama Category]
[Kingdom of Blood / Oh Seoyoung]
[Romance Like a Bonus Book / Kim Hyunjung]
[My Heart Beats / Heo Kyungsun]
[Three other works]
Now all that’s left is to give these guys wings.
There was still a third and final round of judging ahead.
But realistically, the only question now was which project would receive the grand prize.
All twelve works that had survived to this point were future monsters that would eventually shake up Korea’s content industry.
And those raw gems had finally fallen into my hands.
One late autumn morning in November, I entered the lobby of the Korea Exchange in Yeouido.
Even from early morning, the place was crowded with people and reporters.
Today was the day Starlight would officially list on the KOSDAQ market through its IPO.
As soon as I entered the lobby, I spotted CEO Ma Sanghee, dressed in an unusually neat suit, along with Manager Moon Changsoo and several Starlight people.
Among them were Starlight’s representative stars, Moon Hyunbin and Kim Doyoon.
I quickly approached them.
“CEO Ma, congratulations.”
“Today’s finally the day.”
Ma Sanghee warmly took my hand.
“Kibaek... no, CEO Min.”
“You must be busy. Thank you so much for coming.”
“What are you thanking me for?”
“There was no way I’d miss a day like this.”
Moon Hyunbin leaned toward me and lowered his voice as if whispering.
“CEO Min, you came.”
“Man, this is more nerve-racking than I thought.”
“I think I’m more nervous than on the premiere day of one of my dramas.”
I lightly smacked his back.
“Hyung, why are you being so uncool?”
“You’ve done this kind of thing plenty of times.”
“And you’re not here today as Starlight’s pretty face.”
“You’re here as a shareholder and director.”
“So straighten your shoulders.”
Moon Hyunbin immediately puffed out his chest as though he understood.
I turned to Moon Changsoo.
“By the way, Boyoung noona isn’t coming today?”
“She’s Starlight’s second-largest shareholder.”
“She might be the person who benefits the most from this listing.”
“Oh, noona said these kinds of events make her uncomfortable.”
“She said she’d just come to the dinner tonight.”
“That sounds exactly like her.”
A few years ago, when Starlight had been expanding rapidly, Ma Sanghee had considered selling Moon Changsoo’s shares to outside investors to secure more capital.
But Gil Boyoung had worried that bringing in outside shareholders could affect management control.
So she ended up buying Moon Changsoo’s stake herself.
As a result, Gil Boyoung now owned the second-largest stake in Starlight after Ma Sanghee.
At 8:50 a.m., the listing ceremony began.
At the host’s introduction, Ma Sanghee stepped onto the stage.
A large ceremonial drum stood there.
“All right.”
“To wish Starlight a successful listing, we’ll now begin the opening bell ceremony.”
“One, two, three!”
Ma Sanghee swung the mallet in her hands and struck the drum hard.
Boom! Boom!
